Groundloop

GROUNDLOOP imagines a future where giant banksias form harbourside homes, traditional patterns wrap CGI coastlines and Indigenous voyagers sail between Aotearoa and Australia. In Lisa Reihana’s words, ‘I am creating a magical world where the moana, the ocean, is the connector.’

The journey begins when a smoke signal cast from the Gallery’s site reaches Reihana’s tribal homeland of Hokianga Harbour. Heeding the invitation, a group of Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous Australian travellers board a sci-fi waka hourua (a Māori double-hulled canoe) and embark towards Gadigal Country.

The arrival in Sydney Harbour – a waterway animated by pelican spirits and the glow of fires on nawi – culminates in an exuberant ceremony. On the shores of Woolloomooloo, visitors and hosts come together to share food, song, and dance.

With this joyful gathering, the video ends and starts again. Just as watercraft course to and fro across the Tasman, so time loops. Citing the Māori proverb ‘Ka mua, ka muri’ (walking backwards, into the future), Reihana spins a sci-fi story sustained by millennia-old First Nations technologies, cultural knowledge and care for Country.